Apparatus for extracting snake poison from wounds

ABSTRACT

A suction device for extracting poison, particularly snake poison, from wounds which comprises a cylinder having an open end and a hand-operable piston displaceable in the cylinder in opposite directions. With the open end applied to the area directly surrounding the wound and upon movement of the piston in one direction, partial vacuum is created in the cylinder in the region of the open end, as a result of which poison is extracted from the wound and sucked into the cylinder.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Johan George Schmidt Gibsonstraat 31, Deventer, Netherlands [21 Appl. No. 828,523 [22] Filed May 28, 1969 [45] Patented Dec. 7, 1971 [32] Priority May 30, 1968 [33] Germany [31] P 17 66 485.6

[54] APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING SNAKE POISON FROM WOUNDS 11 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 128/300 [51] A61m 1/00 [50] Field 01 Search ..l 28/276-278, 297-300 [S 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 805,206 11/1905 Jordan 128/297 949,230 2/1910 Haines 128/297 X 1,864,700 6/1932 Wade 128/297 2,539,846 l/l95l Lewis et a1 128/297 X 3,068,868 12/1962 Skopyk 128/300 3,125,094 3/1964 Krug 123/300 Primary E.raminerCharles F. Rosenbaum Attorney-Michael S. Striker ABSTRACT: A suction device for extracting poison, particularly snake poison, from wounds which comprises a cylinder having an open end and a hand-operable piston displaceable in the cylinder in opposite directions. With the open end applied to the area directly surrounding the wound and upon movement of the piston in one direction, partial vacuum is created in the cylinder in the region of the open end, as a result of which poison is extracted from the wound and sucked into the cylinder.

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. I F/gZ Inventor.- fawn) 660456 (cl/mp7 APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING SNAKE POISON FROM WOUNDS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for extracting poison from wounds. At present each year about 20,000 people in various parts of the world die as a result of poisoning from snakebites.

Hitherto no adequate remedy or solution has been found to either overcome or drastically reduce this mortality figure mainly due to the fact that whereas on the whole snake poisoning requires immediate and adequate medical treatment, in certain remote areas such direct help is not available or, in other instances, the steps available are inadequate. Such steps include enlarging the wound to induce bleeding, application of toumiquets, and oral extraction of the venom.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It therefore is an important object of the present invention to provide a simple yet reliable device for the extraction of poison from wounds, which device can be easily carried along and thus readily used in the event of a bite by a snake or another poisonous animal.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a suction-type, poison-extracting apparatus which preferably is pocket-sized and manually operable and is typified by a sturdy, long-lasting construction which, even after long periods of inactivity, function efficiently, without the necessity of the replacement of parts.

The apparatus of the invention comprises a cylinder having an open end and a hand-operable piston displaceable in opposite directions. With the open end applied to the area directly surrounding the wound and upon movement of the piston in one direction, partial vacuum is created in the cylinder in the region of the open end, as a result of which poison is extracted from the wound and sucked into the cylinder.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a part elevationaland a part sectional view of an apparatus which embodies a first form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view as seen in the direction of arrows from the line lI--ll of FIG. I; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmental axial sectional view of a modified apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 comprises a cylinder 1 made of a suitable corrosion-resistant material. Mounted in cylinder 1 for reciprocatory movement therein in opposite directions is a piston 2 which, in the embodiment shown, is in the form of a closed hollow cylindrical body. Piston 2 has a transverse diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of cylinder 1 so as to form a close yet slidable fit therewith.

Piston 2 may extend entirely within cylinder 1 or, as shown in FIG. 1, may partially protrude through one end In of the cylinder. In the latter case it is preferable that an elastic or plastic sealing element be interposed between the cylinder and the protruding part of the piston. The sealing element used in this preferred embodiment of the invention is in the form of a flexible sleeve 3, the lower end 4 of which resiliently surrounds the protruding piston while the upper end 5 of the sleeve rigidly encloses the cylinder in the lower region thereof. The flexibility of the lower end 4 of the sleeve is such that an airtight but slidable seal is formed between the cylinder and the piston. In order to firmly detain sleeve 3on the cylinder, the former is connected thereto by retaining ribs 6 which are integral with and extend transversely relative to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder. In this manner a positive grip is established between the upper end 5 of the sleeve and the lower region of the cylinder.

Connected to the piston for manual operation thereof are handgrip means in the form of a piston rod 7 and a handle 8.

As shown, the cylinder comprises a second open end section lb which forms the suction end of the apparatus. In the event of a snakebite, this open end is placed over the wound whereby the rim 1c of the opening rests upon the area directly surrounding the wound. To this end, end section lb is provided with a bead-shaped elastic liner 9 which surrounds the opening and is disposed over the rim to more or less ease the contact pressure thereof when the apparatus is applied to the skin.

As shown, the liner is draped over the rim and includes sections 10 and II which respectively extend inwards and outwards of the cylinder. The inward section 10 of the liner 9 is arranged so that the lower region thereof is formed into an abutment adapted to engage and to terminate displacement of the piston in one direction, which will presently be explained.

The piston 2 is arranged to effect a working stroke during which it is drawn from its rest or inoperative position, and a return stroke during which the piston is returned to its rest position, in which position it abuts against abutment 9a, FIG. I.

In the event of a Snakebite, end section lb is applied to the body, in a fashion as explained before, and piston 2 is drawn out by means of piston rod 7 and handle 8. This action creates a partial vacuum in the cylinder in that piston 2 exerts a pull on the wound whereby poison is extracted therefrom and forced into the interior of the cylinder.

In order not to draw the piston too far out of the cylinder, the former is suitably provided with a marker line or notch 14 disposed on the outer surface of the piston.

As soon as this marker line 14 appears at the lower end 4 of sleeve 3, this will form an indication for the operator to end the working stroke.

In order to disengage the apparatus from the skin it is only necessary to effect the return stroke by pushing piston 2 back into cylinder 1 towards its rest position.

It will be appreciated that the operation of the apparatus is quite simple and that the above sucking action may be repeated as often as desired.

To facilitate rapid disengagement of the apparatus from the skin and to effect equalization of pressure between the interior of the cylinder and the surrounding atmosphere, a one-way valve means, in the form of a pressure release valve, is provided in the region of open end lb of the cylinder.

This valve is seen to comprise a valve flap l2 and an aperture 13 formed in the wall of the cylinder. Valve flap 12 forms part of liner 9 and is a downward projection thereof at the 0utside of the cylinder and overlies aperture 13 in the rest position of the apparatus and during the working stroke thereof. During the return stroke of the apparatus, that is when the piston 2 is pushed back into the cylinder, the air originally entrapped in the cylinder when the apparatus was first applied to the skin, is now compressed and forces flap 12 to open whereby release of air through aperture 13 is achieved.

Depending on the size and physical requirements a number of valves may be provided, that is a number of apertures may be arranged with an equal number of flaps or, as regards the latter, one single flap or projection may be arranged to cover a plurality of air-release vents or apertures.

It will be appreciated that flap 12 which is integral with section 11 of liner 9, is arranged so that it has a higher degree of flexibility than the remainder of liner 9 so as to allow the flap to pivot thereon.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cylinder 1 and piston 2 are shown to have substantially cross sections, however, any other suitable configuration is also feasible.

F IG. 3 partially illustrates a further embodiment of the apparatus in which the piston is in the form of a disc 20, integrally fon-ned with piston rod 7. in this instance the piston is provided with a first sealing element in the form of piston ring 22, which is made of a flexible material and engages the interior surface 24 of the cylinder to form an airtight seal between the piston and the cylinder. In addition, the piston 20 is provided with a second sealing element in the form of lip seal 26, which likewise is made of a flexible material such as rubber or a plastic, and which also engages the interior wall 24 of the cylinder to form a second additional airtight seal between the cylinder and the piston.

it will be appreciated that depending upon the physical configuration of the apparatus, it may suffice to employ only one such sealing element, provided that such single seal effects an airtight fit between the cylinder and piston when the apparatus is applied to the skin so that no air can enter/escape the cylinder.

Though the apparatus has been described as being intended for extraction of snake poison, it is clear that the apparatus can be used with equal advantage for extraction of other types of poison which enter the body as a result of a bite or as a result of an injury.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features which fairly constitute characteristics of the generic and specific aspects of my contribution to the art.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. Apparatus for extracting poison, particularly snake poison, from wounds, said apparatus comprising a hollow cylinder having an open end adapted to be applied to the part of the body that surrounds a wound; a piston mounted in said cylinder for reciprocatory movement in two directions so that said piston creates partial vacuum in the cylinder adjacent to said open end in response to movement in one direction whereby poison is extracted from the wound into the interior of said cylinder; an elastic liner surrounding said open end of said cylinder; and one-way valve means operative to permit escape of air from the interior of the cylinder in the region of said open end in response to movement of said piston toward said open end, said one-way valve means comprising at least one aperture in the wall ofsaid cylinder and a projection forming part of said liner and overlying said aperture at the outside of said cylinder.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim I, wherein said cylinder has a second end and wherein said piston nearly fills said cylinder and extends through and with a portion thereof beyond said open end, and including an elastic sleeve secured to said open end of said cylinder and sealingly engaging said portion of said piston.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, and including retaining ribs integral with and extending about said second open end of said cylinder for securing said sleeve to said cylinder.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cylinder has a second open end and said piston is provided with handgrip means extending through said second open end of the cylinder.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said projection has a higher degree of flexibility than the remainder of said elastic liner.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, said liner including an abutment near said open end for engaging said piston and to terminate displacement thereof in the direction of said open end.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising annular sealing means interposed between said cylinder and said piston.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said piston is hollow.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said piston is a disc.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said disc comprises at least one sealing element engaging the interior surface ofsaid cylinder.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cylinder and said piston have a substantially oval cross section. 

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cylinder has a second open end and wherein said piston nearly fills said cylinder and extends through and with a a portion thereof beyond said open end, and including an elastic sleeve secured to said open end of said cylinder and sealingly engaging said portion of said piston.
 3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, and including retaiNing ribs integral with and extending about said second open end of said cylinder for securing said sleeve to said cylinder.
 4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cylinder has a second open end and said piston is provided with handgrip means extending through said second open end of the cylinder.
 5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said projection has a higher degree of flexibility than the remainder of said elastic liner.
 6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, said liner including an abutment near said open end for engaging said piston and to terminate displacement thereof in the direction of said open end.
 7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising annular sealing means interposed between said cylinder and said piston.
 8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said piston is hollow.
 9. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said piston is a disc.
 10. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said disc comprises at least one sealing element engaging the interior surface of said cylinder.
 11. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cylinder and said piston have a substantially oval cross section. 